


Lessons in Meal Prep and War

by dontrollthedice



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, Pre-Slash, Roommates, sleep deprived!tapl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26448490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontrollthedice/pseuds/dontrollthedice
Summary: Spifey wakes up from a nightmare. Despite it all, Tapl helps in his own way.
Relationships: George | Spifey/Harvey | TapL
Comments: 24
Kudos: 162





	Lessons in Meal Prep and War

**Author's Note:**

> cw: vague memories of a nightmare about drowning

Rushing water, aching limbs, screams for help—

Spifey blinked, trying to catch his breath and slow his rushing heart to no avail.

A grasshopper chirped in the distance. The air outside was silent, still, a departure from the usual sound of cars whizzing by and people getting just a bit too drunk. LA, while one of the noisier places Spifey had ever stayed in, still needed to sleep at times, he supposed.

Time passed without him. The neutrality of the night was almost oppressive. There was no river, no rushing water to pull him into the depths below. The closest thing to a river around him was a bathtub.

He was safe. He was secure. Even if he felt the waves could drag him back under, he needed to get a grip on himself.

Spifey climbed out of bed with the sound of rushing water and yells for help echoing in his head. He hadn't had that particular nightmare in a year. Why now? He had promised a stream earlier, then he had to record with Zelk, then he had to—

It was only when he found himself gasping for air he realized his breaths were too short and quick. He needed to _breathe_ for fuck’s sake. He knew how to take care of himself after nightmares.

He winced.

Ugh. His throat was parched. There was still some apple juice left in the fridge, right? He wasn’t sure he wanted to see even a drop of just water right now.

His head was fuzzy all throughout the walk to the kitchen. The initial panic had worn off, but some bits of it lingered past their welcome. Not like they were welcome in the first place.

“... George?” came an uncertain voice.

The static snapped away. The kitchen was fully lit despite the time on the oven clearly reading 3 AM. Containers and snack bags were littered all over the kitchen counter, and one man stood behind the counter, his face partially obscured from how tall the stacks of objects were.

Oh. Tapl.

Spifey blinked and stepped closer until he stood on the other side of the counter, furrowing his eyebrows. The nightmare took a backseat to the confusion in the kitchen. “Harvey? What’re you doing?”

Tapl grinned a smile that was too wide to be in character and held up a snack bag with a trembling arm. Was he okay? “Meal prep.”

“Meal prep… with oreos and chips?”

“And soda. Can’t forget that one.” He paused, squinting as he examined Spifey. “You look kinda shaken. What’s up?”

“Uh…” Spifey paused to think. “Just couldn’t sleep, is all.”

Tapl nodded understandingly. “Yeah. I always wondered how tall people could sleep if they were too tall for their blanket. We should get a blanket tailored for you sometime.”

Wow. Okay.

Tapl wasn’t an idiot (most of the time anyway), nor was he the type of person to prepare this many containers of snacks for a video (both of them preferred to leave those kinds of shenanigans to Skeppy. Besides, there was no recording equipment anywhere). What was he doing up at three in the morning anyway? And why was he so perceptive yet willing to accept that obvious lie without a shade of doubt?

There were a couple conclusions he could come to here. He started with what was most obvious.

“Hey, Harvey,” Spifey called. “When’s the last time you slept?”

Tapl paused to think. “Uh… two days ago? Three days?”

Ah. That explained a lot.

“Don’t you think you should head to sleep soon?” Spifey asked.

“Nah, I’m good. Still got work to do.”

Okay, so Tapl was just as much of a workaholic as his other friends. Spifey had definitely had his share of wrangling his friends to sleep before. Even if Spifey was still reluctant to sleep, Tapl needed it much more than he did.

“We can, uh…” Spifey glanced at the mountain of boxes on the counter. “We can finish this later. I’ll even help you with it, okay?”

“No! This is war!” Tapl shouted. He ducked behind the boxes. Where had he gotten the energy for that at three in the morning?

“War against who?”

“Zelk, that bastard. Vurb, too.”

“And what did they do?”

“What _didn’t_ they do?”

Spifey suppressed a laugh at that. Even sleep-deprived Tapl knew how to make a good point. Which means he might need to play along if any of this was gonna work. 

He walked behind the counter and extended his hand out to a seated Tapl. “Come on. If you wanna defeat them, you’re gonna have to be well-rested.”

Tapl pursed his lips. “I don’t know… What if they’re conspiring against me right now? I can’t just let that time go to waste.”

“No, trust me. Everyone gave me their brain cells for the night. I know what they’re up to.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Wait, that worked?

Tapl took Spifey’s hand and moved to pull himself up, but stopped and gasped. “You’re so warm, what the fuck?”

Huh. He _was_ feeling a bit warm, especially in the face. It could’ve been from waking so suddenly from the nightmare, but he should have cooled down by now.

By the time Spifey had finished his train of thought, a heavier weight was on his hand and—

Oh no.

“Harvey,” Spifey sighed. “Please don’t fall asleep on my hand.”

It was too late. Tapl’s head rested firmly on the back of Spifey’s left hand, and his fingers were loosely intertwined with Spifey’s. His chest rose and fell evenly with his breath. All the minute muscles in his face were relaxed.

Spifey had to smile at that. Tapl deserved a break, especially after all of the content he had put out recently. But how could he maneuver his hand away without waking him up? Was it really worth the risk of waking him up and having to wrangle him back to sleep again?

Well…

Eh, what was one night sleeping in the kitchen? Besides, it felt... nice(?) anyway.

Spifey slowly positioned himself to sit on the floor, careful to not disturb the head on his hand too much. By the time he had settled into a comfortable position, his hand was starting to ache.

There was a solution for this. He knew exactly what the solution was. He just wasn’t sure it was a good idea, given Tapl’s history of reacting to Zelk and Vurb flirting with him. But this wouldn’t exactly be flirting, would it? It’d just be helping a friend out with their sleep schedule while having the added bonus of not breaking a hand.

Friend. Yeah. Why did that word feel so weird now?

Whatever. Spifey carefully lifted his hand up to his shoulder and slid Tapl’s head onto it. Thankfully, the operation was a success. Spifey’s hand was free, and Tapl was still fast asleep—

Uh oh.

Spifey sighed as a pair of arms wrapped around his left arm and clung tightly. Looks like his hand wasn’t able to escape after all. Sorry, pal.

But it was strange. When had Tapl been so warm himself? The warmth on Spifey’s left arm left his other arm cold, lonely. His head fit into the crook of Spifey’s neck just perfectly, even more so when Spifey tilted his head. This was the most comfortable Spifey had been in months.

Why? It’s not like he had any complaints with his bed. His bed had a mattress, pillows, a blanket. And Tapl had… Tapl. He had himself. Yet Spifey still thought—

His heart skipped a beat.

No. No way. This was not happening right now.

Yet the warmth only grew as Spifey gazed down at the sleeping figure buried into his side. It was only then he noticed how messy Tapl’s hair was, how peaceful his face looked at rest, how _reassuring_ his presence felt.

It felt safe next to him. The nightmare was a distant memory compared to the security the man next to him gave him.

… He needed to relax. He wouldn’t get any sleep at this rate.

So Spifey settled back into the warmth and gently, hesitantly shut his eyes.

This time, no nightmare came.


End file.
